Canada Recovery Benefit - What every non-resident should know
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has launched a new benefit, the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB).
The benefit has now been closed.
The benefits are available to citizens and non-residents alike.
This has been rolled out in order to replace the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB).
CERB, which was introduced in response to the coronavirus outbreak, provided a much-needed assistance to many residents and non-residents with a $2,000 injection that ran from March to September of 2020. The last day to apply was December 22, 2021.
Here’s everything a non-resident in Canada should know about the new CRB payment.
The average Canadian tax refund is $998
What is the difference between CRB and CERB?
At face value, it can be difficult to see the difference between CRB and CERB, however, there are a few important alterations which should be noted.
The CRB has been created with a view to encouraging a return to work.
The benefit aims to discourage those who have declined work opportunities and instead continued to avail of benefits.
As such, the CRA has included a penalty for those who refuse to take up reasonable work offered to them. This penalty will reduce the CRB term by 10 weeks to just 16 weeks.
On top of this, any of your CRB applications will be stopped for 10 weeks, which means you can’t apply for the benefit for the next 10 weeks.
This penalty is repeated if you are found to be refusing work again.
CRB also enables those who have had to take pay cuts at their job to continue availing of the benefit. If you were eligible or claiming CERB, chances are you will be able to avail of CRB. However, there are a few requirements you must meet:
- can’t be on EI
- need a valid SIN
- can’t claim any other benefits, for example workers’ compensation benefits or caregiving benefits
- need at least 120 insurable hours of work in the last 52 weeks
Also, you are only eligible if you lost your job due to the COVID-19 outbreak, instead of other reasons or taking the decision to choose to leave yourself.
Another difference is that the CRB comes with an automatic tax deduction of 10% on the payment of $1,000. In other words, you will receive $900 per 2-week period.
If you find yourself in the same situation over the past 2 weeks, you will need to apply again.
The average Canadian tax refund is $998
You may apply up to a total of 13 eligibility periods (or 26 weeks).
The $900 CRB will be added to your 2020 and 2021 taxable income, and you will pay personal income tax as per the tax bracket under which your annual income falls.
To apply, you will need to send your application on the first Monday after the period 2 weeks that you’re applying for has ended.
To do this you will need to log in or create your CRA account online.
Got questions about Canadian tax?
We could probably all do with some extra cash in our pockets at the moment, right?
Use our tax return calculator to find out if you are due any tax back in Canada!
If you would like to find out more about claiming your Canadian tax refund, contact the Taxback. Live Chat team anytime 24/7. You can also sign up for a FREE tax refund estimate here. The average Canadian tax refund is $998.
The average Canadian tax refund is $998
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